Amy Schoeman

Employment

Back to New York....

Graduated with two master's degrees from Columbia several years ago. Found that finding the right job to be a major struggle (nascent stages of a recession?). Finally found a great job with a non-profit in New York City. Then I decided to quit that great job to move to Dubai for an "even greater" urban planning job that I applied to a year ago. I moved for the experience (once in a lifetime!), to help pay off those Columbia degrees, and perhaps on a sub conscious level to make up for two years of disappointments in finding a job. A couple weeks ago I was laid off from that fabulous amazing Dubai job (it really was interesting).

Now I'm looking for jobs in both the UAE (at least until the end of the month) and New York. But the job market is not looking so hot in either place (you may have read that Times article about the mass exodus form Dubai). And I'm hesitant about coming back to the city because while there are wonderful things about coming back (family, friends, pizza, $1.50 coffee) there are other drawbacks such as not having health insurance, realization of not applying to those Obama administration jobs in time, and having to walk around with my tail between my legs.

I think the hardest part of my New York story is probably that I expect to not be getting a lot of sympathy or support from many people when I move back. I think some people-especially friends in safe but lower paying non-profit or government jobs (hey I used to work in the public sector!)-might be secretly glad I got let go. I know my family who was adamant against my going ("you're going to help that megalomaniac sheik!") will just think I told you so and tell me I shouldn't have left. And most of all I worry about being mired in my own regrets and self-doubt.

Ultimately, I took a big risk in moving abroad and I have to take responsibility for that. But despite my paranoia about how people will react to my situation, I really hope that that the city will embrace me.

116th Street